Grappling with mental health's most vexing question: Who is dangerous? Forty years ago, a new legal standard for commitment rose from a Milwaukee lawsuit to become the law of the land. It has proved to be tragically inadequate.

President Barack Obama said the country must take action to protect citizens and children from gun violence. While I strongly agree with this statement, I wonder why this resolve has taken so long.

There have been 62 mass shootings in America since 1982, and since that time thousands of children have died violently on the streets in this country without so much as a whimper.

Full disclosure: I'm a gun owner, but I know that more guns are not the answer. Keeping guns out of the hands of people who are mentally ill or who are just plain evil is the only way you can start to address the problem.

As a country, we need to ask ourselves if there should be a ban on assault weapons with clips that allow a person to fire hundreds of rounds at a time. I have yet to hear a good explanation as to why a person needs a weapon with that much power.

You are not hunting with a rifle like that, and if your lifestyle requires you to need that kind of protection, then maybe you need a career change.

Unfortunately, we don't talk about mental illness until something tragic happens. Most of us pretend that mental illness does not exist - and that's part of the problem. Those affected suffer silently because of the social stigma, and they don't know where they can turn to get help.

Obama said in the coming weeks he would use "whatever power this office holds" to engage with law enforcement, mental health professionals, parents and educators in an effort to prevent more tragedies like Newtown.

That's a good start, but I want specifics.

Obama asked: "Can we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?"

We know the answer: "If we're honest with our ourselves, the answer is no. And we will have to change," he said.

People with their eyes open can tell you that high-powered guns and guns ending up in the hands of bad people has eroded some areas of the city. Access to guns needs to be limited, and there need to be tougher laws in place for criminals to feel that the punishment for them owning a gun is worse than not owning a gun.

Another step: Have everyone who buys a gun pass a psychological exam. Law enforcement officials are subjected to psychological testing, so why shouldn't gun owners undergo the same type of test? Guns should not be able to be sold privately. The Azana spa shooting is evidence of that.

Would any of this have stopped Adam Lanza from going on a rampage that left his mother, six adults and 20 kids at an elementary school dead?

We really don't know, but we can't continue to say as a nation that "There was nothing that we could have done to stop this."

There are warning signs. Wade Michael Page showed hatred toward minorities before the white supremacist killed six people at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, then killed himself in August.

Radcliffe Haughton was in a violent relationship with his wife long before he went on a shooting spree at the Azana Spa in Brookfield that left her and two co-workers dead. He also killed himself.

I know that law-abiding gun owners believe that any kind of restrictions will take away their Second Amendment rights. That's why gun stores such as the Shooters Shop were busy Monday as people sought to buy guns before any kind of changes go into effect.

Eric Grabowski, owner of the gun store, said people are scared because they don't know what Obama will do.

"This gave him the agenda to move his plan forward. That's how most people see it," Grabowski said.

They have it wrong. This isn't about taking guns out of the hands of responsible gun owners. It's about keeping guns out of the hands of those intent on doing evil.